The Ring
by fozrulz
Summary: AU:  12th story in Ellie series.  A rotten little girl and a lost ring.  WARNING:  spanking scene.


THE RING

Ellie woke up bright and early and raced down the stairs. She arrived at the breakfast table before her brothers. An amazing feat in it self. She was usually the last to arrive, well she usually tied Joe for last. Her papa was already at the table having his first cup of coffee.

"Morning Papa," she said as she gave him a kiss.

"Well, good morning sunshine," said Pa smiling, "what has you up so early?"

"I guess I'm just excited about Amanda coming. Can you imagine Papa, I get $5 for just playing with a little girl." she said as she slid into her place.

"Well Mr. and Mrs. Francis and Amanda will be arriving on the 3:00 stage. So, you have a little while." Pa said shaking his head chuckling. Mason Francis was an old friend of his from Boston. Mason was coming to San Francisco on business and decided to bring his wife and 6 year old daughter for a visit. His daughter, Amanda, would be staying with the Cartwrights for a few days while her parents went to San Francisco. Ellie's job would be to watch and entertain Amanda. Mrs. Francis was going to pay her $5 for a week's worth of babysitting.

"Papa, do you think Amanda knows how to ride a pony? She could ride Windy." Ellie asked as she shoveled some eggs on her plate.

"Well…" Pa started.

Just as Pa opened his mouth, Adam, Hoss and Will arrived at the table. "Good Morning," came from the boys. Adam bent to kiss Ellie on top of the head as he made his way to his seat.

"Morning boys," said Pa, "where are your brothers?"

"Pa, I think Clay got up real early and went to finish the fence in the south pasture. He said he wanted to finish up early because he said he was gonna make sure he could go to town tonight." said Hoss as he grabbed a biscuit.

"Oh," said Pa frowning a little, "and what is so interesting in town?"

Hoss blushed a little and put his head down, "Ummm….I don't want to be telling no tales Pa, but I think he's sparking Amy Sue Baldwin."

Pa smiled. The Baldwin family was well known in Virginia City. They were a good Christian family with six children. Amy Sue was the oldest. She was beautiful. His sons sure knew how to pick them. Her daddy was the blacksmith.

"And what about your youngest brother?" Pa asked.

"Aw Uncle Ben, you know Joe, he ain't even up yet." said Will grinning.

"Will, roust him out of bed will you? Tell him he better get himself down here and to this table before I come up and get him." Pa said annoyed.

Will grinned. Nobody wanted Uncle Ben getting them out of bed. That little practice usually involved a couple of well placed swats on a very poorly protected behind. "Yes, sir," he said as he got up from the table and headed for the stairs.

Will climbed the stairs and stood in front of Joe's door. He knocked and got no answer. "Joe, come on …" said Will, "your Pa says to get downstairs before he comes up here and you know what that means…"

Joe rolled over and opened one eye. "Leave me alone.." he mumbled into his pillow as he snuggled down.

Will laughed, "Come on little cousin… You don't want your Pa coming up here do you?"

Joe opened both eyes and took one of his pillows and threw it at Will. "Go away, I'm tired."

Will ducked still laughing. He took the water pitcher off the washstand and poured some into the glass sitting there. He stood over Joe's head and started to drip a little water at a time on Joe's head.

Joe sat straight up in bed, "Damn you Will.." Joe started. All the sudden Joe heard thunder.

"BOYS! JOSEPH!"

Both boys turned around to see a very angry Ben Cartwright standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips.

Will turned around guiltily, "Umm, Uncle Ben, I'm sorry."

"William Cartwright, get downstairs and finish your breakfast!" thundered his uncle.

"But, Uncle Ben…" Will started.

"NOW!" thundered his Uncle.

"Yes sir." said Will sheepishly as he made his way by his uncle to head downstairs. Will made very sure that his backside was against the door as he scooted by his uncle. His uncle had never swatted him before and he was way too old for that, but he wasn't sure his uncle felt the same way. The look in his uncle's eye told him that he best not take any chances.

By this time, Joe was wide awake and worried. Pa sure looked mad. He was for sure that Pa had heard him swear. He was 18, but Pa still swatted him when he had a mind too. One thing Pa did not abide was any swearing or anything even close to swearing. Shoot, he was usually afraid to even think about swearing, lest Pa read his mind.

"Joseph, get out of that bed NOW!" Pa boomed.

Joe jumped out of bed and onto his feet. "Yes sir."

"I want you downstairs and at the breakfast table in 5 minutes." Pa said shaking his finger at him.

"Yes sir."

Pa turned to leave.

Joe breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe it. Pa wasn't going to swat him for being late to breakfast or for swearing. Joe was congratulating himself on his good fortune as he turned toward his dresser to get some fresh clothes. BIG MISTAKE! His backside was toward the door. Joe reached down to take his nightshirt off and as he was lifting it over his head, he felt a very hard smack on his bare backside. Before he could react, he felt another stinging smack. Joe jumped, letting his nightshirt fall back in place. "Pa?" he gasped as he reached to rub his behind.

"5 minutes young man," said Pa as he headed for the door.

"Yes sir." said Joe, keeping his backside toward the dresser. He watched his father leave his room and close the door. Joe was still rubbing his stinging behind.

Pa returned to the breakfast table. He noticed that everyone was talking and animated, but Will. Will was pushing his food around on his plate. Pa laughed to himself, Will thought he was such a grownup at 28. Even though he was full grown and old enough to have a family of his own, sometimes, he still acted like a little boy. Pa walked up behind him and rubbed the back of his head. "Will, son, everything is fine, eat."

Everyone grinned at Joe as he gingerly slid into his seat. "Good morning." he mumbled.

"Morning Joe," they snickered at him.

"Need a softer seat, little buddy?" snickered Adam.

"Yeah, I could get you a cushion baby brother." offered Hoss.

Joe scowled at them all.

Pa sat down and shook his napkin out and put in on his lap. "That's enough everyone, let Joe eat in peace." he said admonishing all his children. He turned toward Joe, "Joseph, eat your breakfast."

Joe took one look at his Pa. "Yes sir." he mumbled.

Feeling like this was a great time to change the subject, Ellie jumped in. "Heh Papa, you didn't answer my question, do you think that Amanda can ride?"

Joe gave his sister a grateful glance. At least the attention was off of him. She gave him a quick smile and squeezed his hand under the table.

"Well baby, I don't know. You could certainly start her out on Windy. Even if she has ridden, Windy should be a good mount for her while she's here." Pa said thoughtfully.

"What's this?" asked Adam.

Ellie turned to Adam, "Didn't I tell you Adam? Mrs. Francis said she would pay me $5 for watching Amanda for the week. She and Mr. Francis are going to leave her here while they go to San Francisco. Can you imagine? Five whole dollars." Ellie said breathlessly.

Adam chuckled. He looked at his father. "Pa, don't you think Ellie is a little young for the responsibility?"

"I am not!" Ellie huffed. "Tell him I'm not Papa! Adam, you were watching Joe and Hoss when you were my age. Tell him Papa!"

Pa hid a smile behind his hand as he coughed. "Well son, that's true, you were watching Hoss and Joe when you were 13."

Adam looked at his father, "Really Pa, that wasn't the same thing at all…."

Ellie's eyes started to get big and her face was starting to turn red. 'It is so the same thing. You just think because I'm the baby of this family, I can't do anything. I can be just as responsible as you were when you were 13." she spat as she landed her fist on the table.

The other boys starting snickering. She was throwing a temper tantrum. Yep, grownup and responsible that's what she was.

Always the peacemaker, Hoss intervened. "Now, now princess, don't go getting upset. We all just don't like the idea that you are starting to grow up on us. We still want to keep you our baby. We know you can handle babysitting, don't we Adam?" Hoss said giving his oldest brother a pointed look.

Adam held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry princess, I know it will be fine. Just hard for me to realize how grown up your are getting."

Ellie backed down. "I'm sorry I lost my temper. Papa, may I be excused? I want to go make a list of things I can do with Amanda to keep her busy." she asked.

Pa nodded his ascent. He looked around the table. Come on boys, we need to get to work."

The boys pushed back their chairs and headed for the door. Ellie started to head up the stairs to her room.

"Eleanor," called Pa, "you have chores to do first."

"Oh right Papa, sorry", Ellie said as she turned around and headed for the barn. Ellie caught up with Joe. "Heh Joe, you think I can handle babysitting don't you?"

"Sure Sissy." said Joe as he grabbed the shovel to muck out the stalls.

Ellie grabbed the broom to sweep out the floor.

"Sissy, you can't sweep until I'm done with this and stacking the hay. Otherwise you'll have to do it all over again." Joes said exasperated. "Go, clean and straighten the tack."

"Ok," she said absentmindedly. Ellie hummed to herself as she did her chores all the while thinking about she would spend that $5. She could buy a new book, assuming that Mr. Callahan had something she hadn't read. She could save it to buy Christmas presents for her brothers. She could buy a new bridle for Mariah. The possibilities were endless.

Ellie finished cleaning and straightening the tack. "Heh, Joe are you ready for me to sweep yet?" she called.

"Yep," he replied, "I was just coming to get you."

"Let's feed and water the horses first," Ellie suggested. "Then I'll sweep."

"Good idea," said Joe.

Joe and Ellie finished up the barn. Ellie started to head toward the house. Joe was saddling up Cochise. "Where you headed Joe?" Ellie asked.

"Pa said to go help with the fence in the south pasture. I'm suppose to bring Clay lunch. Heh Sissy, will you go see if Hop Sing made lunch to take out to Clay?" Joe asked as he swung the saddle up on Cochise and straightened the saddle pad.

"Sure Joe." she said as she turned to run toward the house. She returned a few minutes later with two sacks. One for Joe and one for Clay. "Here you go," she said handing the sacks to him.

"Thanks, see you later." said Joe as he swung up into the saddle.

"Ok," she said as she headed for the house. She was formulating a list in her mind of all the things she could do with Amanda. Although it was kind of hard, not knowing what Amanda liked or disliked. She walked into the house and flopped on the settee. Her Papa was sitting at his desk.

"Ellie, what's wrong?" Pa asked as he watched her flop dejectedly onto the settee.

"Oh, I don't know Papa. I don't really know what Amanda likes to do. It's hard to plan things."

"Don't worry princess, it will be fine." Papa said shuffling his papers about. "I do want to remind you that this house is not set up for young children any more and that you need to keep a good eye on her and not let her wander into my bedroom or any of the boy's rooms."

"Yes sir, I promise to keep a close eye on her." Ellie said nodding her head.

Pa looked at the clock. It was almost time for lunch. "Ellie, go help Hop Sing set the table for lunch."

"Oh, Papa do I have to?" she whined.

"Eleanor Grace," Pa growled.

Ellie took one look at his face, heard him call her by her full name and decided she would just go do as she was asked before he got angry. "Yes sir, I'm going right now." As she went to help Hop Sing, she wondered if Amanda liked to bake. Maybe Hop Sing would let them do some baking.

As soon as lunch was over, Ellie and Pa took the surrey and headed for town to pick up the Francis family. Ellie was so excited, she peppered he papa with questions until they arrived in town. Finally Pa looked at his youngest, "Eleanor Grace, give me a rest. I need some peace. When they get here, do not bombard them with questions."

"Oh, gosh Papa, I'm sorry. I'm just very excited." Ellie said contritely.

"I know baby, but please, on the ride back to the Ponderosa, I want peace and I want Mr. and Mrs. Francis to be able to talk without having to talk over you."

"Ok Papa, I promise to be quiet." Ellie promised.

The stage was arriving as they pulled into town. "Oh Papa, look it's here, it's here!" Ellie squealed.

Pa just rolled his eyes, so much for her being quiet.

The Francis family stepped off the stage one by one. First Mason, then his wife Violet and then their daughter Amanda. Ellie eyed the family. They certainly were just differently. Ellie supposed it must be the fashion back east. Ellie was dressed in her Sunday dress, but she didn't feel very pretty. She felt Violet and Amanda eyed her as if she were dressed in rags, she flushed.

Pa stepped out to greet them, "Mason, you old son of a gun, how are you? It's so good to have you in Virginia City."

Mr. Francis accepted Pa's hand with a warm smile, "Ben, so good to see you. May I present my wife Violet and my daughter Amanda."

Pa smiled, "So nice to meet you Violet and Amanda. I hope you'll have a pleasant stay here at the Ponderosa. I'd like to present my daughter, Eleanor." Pa said gesturing to Ellie.

Ellie put out her hand to Mrs. Francis, "Nice to meet you ma'am." Then she turned to Mr. Francis, "Nice to meet you sir." She smiled at Amanda, "Hi, Amanda. You can call me Ellie. We are going to have a good time together."

Amanda looked up at Ellie, "Well, you can call me Amanda, only my friends call me Mandy. I doubt I could have a good time with you in this Godforsaken wilderness."

Ellie almost swallowed her tongue. She didn't know what to say. How did a six year old even know the word "Godforsaken". She sighed, this wasn't going to be quite as easy as she thought. She just realized that she would be earning every cent of that five dollars. If she had spoken like that to friends of her father's, she's not sure she would have made it home without a sore behind.

Mrs. Francis just looked at Ellie and Amanda. She didn't say one word. She didn't reprimand her daughter. She just looked at Pa and said, "Well Mr. Cartwright, if you don't mind I'm quite tired and would like to hasten to our acommodations."

"Of course, Mrs. Francis," said Pa, "right this way." Pa helped Mrs. Francis into the surrey, while Mr. Francis helped Amanda. Both men grabbed the luggage. Ellie gave Pa an exasperated look as he helped her into the surrey next to Amanda. Pa just smiled and patted her back. He leaned over and whispered, "She's just tired. It will be fine."

Ellie favored him with a small smile. There was no way in the world that this was going to be fine. She was sure that this was going to be the longest week of her life. As the surrey got underway, the men were talking about ranching business and Ellie was lost in her thoughts. Ellie wondered if she could ask Clay's new girlfriend Amy Sue for advice. Amy had five younger brothers and sisters. Maybe she would know how to handle Amanda. Ellie was ready to give up the five dollars.

When they arrived at the Ponderosa, Pa looked at Ellie. 'Ellie, why don't you show Amanda up to your room."

"Sure Papa," she said extending a hand to Amanda. Amanda refused to put her hand in Ellie's.

Amanda turned around and looked at Pa, "What about my bags?"

Pa's eyebrows went up, my goodness he thought she certainly is demanding. "Well young lady, I think one of the boys will bring up the bags."

"Boys?" she questioned, "You mean servants?"

Pa chuckled, "No, no dear, I have four sons and my nephew living here. One of them will be along shortly." Just as he finished, Joe emerged from the barn. "Joseph, this is Mr. and Mrs. Francis and their daughter, Amanda. Please grab one of the other boys and take their bags upstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Francis are in the guest room and Amanda will be staying with Ellie."

"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Francis." Joe said as he stooped to get the bags.

"Heh!" said Amanda, "What about me?"

Joe smiled at the little girl, "Oh, I'm sorry, nice to meet you too."

Amanda just scowled. Ellie grabbed Amanda's hand, Amanda pulled away. "Come on Amanda, let's go. Then maybe we can go find something fun to do." Amanda looked at her parents.

"Amanda!" said her father sternly.

Amanda reluctantly put her hand in Ellie's and walked toward the house. Mrs. Francis turned on her heel and followed Ellie and Amanda.

Mason Francis looked at his friend, "I'm sorry Ben, Amanda can be a handful being an only child. Her mother indulges her way too much. I was hoping a week here with Eleanor would improve her disposition somewhat. Being the youngest out of seven might help her realize the world doesn't revolve around her."

Pa laughed, "Well, Ellie is pretty spoiled by the boys. You know they are all so much older than she is."

Mason looked at Pa seriously, "You know Ben, she doesn't seem spoiled."

Pa clapped is friend on the back, "Well, they spoil her with love and attention. They don't spoil her with material things. Don't worry, she and Ellie will do just fine. Ellie is normally very good with younger children."

As Ellie and Amanda were reaching the stairs, Amanda turned to Ellie. "Do I really have to share your room?"

"Yep, the only other room is the guest room and your mama and papa are staying in there." Ellie said shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh," said Amanda frowning, "I've never had to share a room before."

"Well me either, but it will be lots of fun. We can stay up at night and I can read you stories or something." Ellie said.

Amanda was still frowning.

Ellie sighed, "Listen Amanda, I know you don't like sharing, but aren't you excited to be somewhere different than home?"

"Yeah, I guess so." conceded Amanda.

"We can do lots of things together. We can ride horses. We can bake cookies. We can go swimming in the lake. I don't know, we can do whatever you like. I really want you to have fun, ok?" Ellie said.

Amanda looked at her curiously, nobody had ever asked what she wanted to do. She was just expected to act a certain way and play with dolls and such. She didn't even like dolls that much. "Really?" she asked.

"Really!" smiled Ellie.

Amanda finally smiled.

"Great!" said Ellie, "Let me show you around. But, I have to tell you, no one is allowed in Papa's room or any of the boy's rooms without permission, ok?"

Amanda nodded her head.

"Ok," said Ellie grabbing Amanda's hand, "Let's go." So, Ellie took her on a tour of the house and the barn. When they arrived at the barn, Ellie showed her Windy.

Amanda breathed deep, "Wow, that's a really pretty pony."

Ellie smiled. "Do you know how to ride?"

"Well, I have a pony at home, but I can't ride outside the corral." she said disgustedly.

Ellie laughed. "Yeah, it was the same way for me. But, if we show Papa you can ride, you can ride on the ranch with me. Maybe we can take a picnic up to the lake."

Amanda's eyes shown. "Really, wow, that would be fun."

Ellie breathed easy, it seems she found the way to Amanda's heart, horses. As Ellie and Amanda admired Windy, Adam walked up behind them.

"Well, who do we have here?" asked Adam.

Ellie jumped, "Oh for heaven's sake Adam, don't creep up on a body like that."

Adam chuckled.

Amanda took Ellie's hand nervously. Ellie looked down at her and smile, "Amanda Francis, this is my oldest brother, Adam. Adam, this is Amanda."

Adam smiled at her, "Nice to meet you Amanda." he said extending his hand.

Amanda hid behind Ellie. Ellie pushed her out in front. "It's ok Amanda, Adam's real nice, well at least most of the time."

Adam grinned, "Better watch yourself missy."

Ellie laughed as Adam left the barn.

"He's kind of scary." said Amanda.

"Oh, don't worry about him," said Ellie, "He's just scary because he always wears black and he's so tall. Wait to you meet my brother Hoss, he's even bigger than Adam."

"You have a brother named "Horse?" asked Amanda.

"No, no "Hoss", 'H' 'o' 's' 's'. It just means big friendly man. His real name is Eric. Only nobody calls him that. Only Papa, when he's really mad. Hoss is taller and bigger and wider than Adam." said Ellie giggling.

"Really? Bigger than Adam?" asked Amanda, her eyes getting wide.

"Yeah, but he is gentle. You'll love him." assured Ellie.

As if by queue, Hoss entered the barn. "Heh, whatch you youngins up to?"

"Heh, Hoss. This here is Amanda. She's Mr. and Mrs. Francis' daughter." Ellie said introducing her charge.

'Well, nice to meet you little lady," said Hoss as he turned toward Ellie, "Ellie, Pa's wanting you up at the house. You two best go on up."

"Ummm, ok…" started Ellie.

Amanda stamped her foot, "But I want to ride Windy." she pouted.

"Well, I don't see why you cain't do that later. But, right now Pa's wanting you up at the house and you best get to it." Hoss chided.

Amanda started to throw a tantrum, but Ellie stopped her. Hoss was already heading toward the house. "Amanda," Ellie hissed, "I don't know how it is at your house, but here if Papa tells you to do something, you best do it or your end up with a sore behind."

Amanda looked at her wide eyed. "What do you mean?"

"A spanking, silly and I'm not getting one on account of you not listening, so come on." Ellie said grabbing the little girl's hand and heading for the house.

"Well, my Papa never spanks me and he would never let your Papa spank me." she said confidently as Ellie was pulling her toward the house.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't be too sure of that." Ellie stole a look at Amanda, she was pouting. "Come on Amanda, don't be that way. I didn't say you were getting a spanking. I was just telling you, that you have to mind. What's the big deal anyhow? It's probably just time for supper."

"I just want to ride Windy. My mama and papa always let me do what I want." she huffed.

"Amanda, please. Just mind, ok? I'm sure Papa will let you ride Windy to the lake as long as you mind. Please?"

"Ok," said the little girl scowling.

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief as she opened the front door.

"Eleanor Grace," Papa roared.

Sir?" asked Ellie, "Papa, what's wrong?"

Pa took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Eleanor, you didn't tell anybody where you were going. We had no idea of where you were?"

"Oh," said Ellie hanging her head down, "I'm sorry Papa, I was just so excited to show Amanda, Windy, I forgot. I won't happen again. I promise."

Pa smiled at his youngest and then turned gruff, "Just see that you don't."

"I want to ride Windy." piped up Amanda.

Pa favored his little visitor with a smile, "Well young lady, I'm sure that can be arranged, but now it's time to wash up for supper."

"But…" whined Amanda.

Ellie quickly pulled Amanda with her. "Not now Amanda," she whispered. As they make their way up to Ellie's room to wash, Amanda was tugging away from Ellie.

"Stop it!", Amanda whined.

Ellie turned toward Amanda as they entered her room. "Listen Amanda, I already told you, you have to mind or Papa will never let you ride Windy any where."

Amanda pouted.

"Come on Amanda, I know that if we are on our best behavior at supper, Papa will let us ride to the lake tomorrow. Just you and me and a picnic."

Amanda smiled once again, "Really?"

Ellie smiled down at her, "Yes, really. Now come on let's get ready for supper." Ellie turned to use the wash stand and wash her hands and face. While she was washing up, Amanda wandered around her room. She spied a box on top of Ellie's dresser. In the box was a ring that had belonged to Ellie's mother, her wedding ring to be precise. Amanda opened the box and took out the ring. She was inspecting it when Ellie turned around.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Ellie yelled. Amanda was so startled she dropped the ring and it rolled under the bed. Ellie knelt down under the bed and retrieved the ring. In the mean time, Amanda stood petrified in front of the dresser.

Ellie felt bad for scaring Amanda, but that ring had been her mama's wedding ring and Papa had given it to her. It was the only thing she had of her mama's. "Oh Amanda, I'm so sorry I yelled at you. It's just that the ring was my mama's and it's very important to me. Please don't touch it, ok?"

Amanda sniffed, "Ok."

"Come on," said Ellie, "Wash up so we can go downstairs." The girls headed down the stairs for supper. Supper was a relaxed affair. While they were eating and there was a lull in the conversation, Ellie thought she should ask about the picnic.

"Excuse me, Papa?" Ellie ventured.

"Hmm?" Pa asked raising his eyebrows.

"May I take Amanda riding tomorrow and for a picnic up at the lake?" Ellie pleaded with her eyes.

Pa looked at his friend, Mason. "What do you say Mason?" Do you mind if the girls ride up to the lake?"

Mason looked over at his wife, 'Well Ben, I'm not sure. We don't let Amanda ride outside the ring at home. We have never let her ride very far."

"Oh, Mr. Francis, I promise I will be real careful with her. She can either ride with me or on Windy. Windy is very gentle. Please Mr. Francis?" Ellie begged.

"Really Papa, you never let me ride anywhere. I'm really tired of riding in the ring, it's so boring. Mama, tell him to let me go." scoffed Amanda.

Ellie's mouth fell open. She would have never spoken to her father like that in front of company. In fact, she wouldn't have spoken like that to her father company or no company, at least not without dire consequences that involved more standing than sitting. Her heart sank, she was just sure Mr. Francis would forbid the ride as punishment for Amanda's rudeness.

Mason cleared his throat, "Well, I guess it would be ok." He looked at his daughter, "I expect you to listen to Ellie, Amanda."

Amanda just rolled her eyes.

Trying to avert a reprimand, Ellie thanked Mr. Francis profusely. Thinking it was a good time to leave the table, Ellie turned toward her father, "May we be excused?"

Pa eyed his friend, not quite sure how to handle Amanda's rudeness. After all this was his house and his table and certainly would not have tolerated that behavior in his children. "Yes, you may be excused." As the words left his mouth, the clock chimed 8:00. "Ellie, I'm sure both you and Amanda had a long day, it's time to get ready for bed."

"Yes Papa." Ellie said as she grabbed Amanda's hand and headed for the stairs.

Amanda turned toward Ellie, "I get to stay up as late as I want." she said loud enough for the adults to hear.

"Well around here, we go to bed early because we all have chores to do. I have to finish my chores before we can go on the picnic."

Ellie pulled Amanda up the stairs and into her room. Ellie rolled her eyes, Amanda was yawning and obviously very tired. "Amanda, come on, I'll help you get ready for bed and then how about a story?"

Amanda smiled up at her. "Ok, Ellie."

Ellie helped Amanda changed and tucked her into bed. She pulled out her favorite book, "The Old Curiosity Shop" and read to Amanda until she fell asleep. Ellie sighed, it was only 8:30 and she got to stay up until 9:30. She had another hour. She thought for a minute and went to look for Joe. She knocked on Joe's door.

"Come in." she heard.

"Heh Joe, can I talk to you a minute?" she asked plopping down on his bed.

"Sure Sissy, what's up?"

"Amanda."

"Yeah, she's something else, ain't she?"

"Yeah Joe, she's something all right. I don't understand how she can be so sassy to the adults and get away with it, but then she's fine with me. I just don't understand." Ellie sighed dejectedly.

"Well, yeah, but why do you care? It's her behind." Joe asked.

"I'm worried that Papa won't let me take her anywhere once her parents leave for San Francisco. If she sasses him like she sasses her parents, this is going to be a very long week. Papa won't let her have any privileges if she doesn't mind." Ellie said.

"Yeah sissy, you're right about that. I'd be surprised if Pa doesn't swat her a time or two." Joe said nodding his head in agreement.

"You know Joe, her parents pretty much let her do what she wants. If I'm going to get through this week babysitting, I'm going to have to let her do what she wants. She seems to be ok with me, but I haven't told her no about anything. Not really anyway. I told her she needed to mind a couple of times and she was ok. She just seems to sass the adults. I don't get it." Ellie said shaking her head.

Joe shook his head, "I don't know Sissy, you never acted like that without Pa swatting you and that stopped you real fast. So, I don't know what to tell you. She sure is spoiled."

"Yeah, I know. Maybe I can ask Clay to bring Amy Sue over. She has five younger brothers and sisters. She has a sister, Lisa that's Amanda's age. Maybe they can play together and that will help." Ellie said thoughtfully. "Is Clay back, yet?"

"No, I don't think so." said Joe.

"Well, I guess I could ask him in the morning, huh?" she asked.

"Good idea Sissy."

"Thanks Joe." said Ellie.

"For what?" asked Joe.

"Just for listening. Sometimes it helps to talk to someone." Ellie smiled at her brother.

"Good night Joe. I'm going to tell Papa good night. See you in the morning." she said as she backed out of his room closing the door. As Ellie made her way down the hall, she could hear her Papa and the Francis' still talking. She sighed as she walked back down the hall. She could use a hug and kiss from her Papa. As she walked back to her room, she heard Adam.

"Heh Princess, still up?" asked Adam.

"Oh, Heh Adam." she said as she turned around.

Adam saw the look on her face. He knew she was upset. "Want to talk about it?" he asked.

Ellie looked up at Adam, "How did you know there's something wrong?"

"It's written all over your face, baby."

"Oh, well I need to work it out for myself I think. I just kind of needed to be close to Papa and well, I don't want to interrupt him." she said wistfully.

"Well, I know I'm not Pa, but will your big brother do?" he asked smiling as he held his arms out to her.

Ellie ran to Adam and through her arms around his waist. He hugged her and she melted against him, releasing the tension that had been building up in her all night. He lifted her chin, "You sure I can't help?"

She shook her head, "I want to try and figure it out myself first."

Adam gave her one last hug and released her. "Ok then princess, good night."

"Night Adam, I love you." Ellie said as she reached for Adam, pulling him down for a good night kiss.

"Love you too princess." he whispered as she walked toward her room. Wow, he thought, she really is growing up. He missed the fact that she used to run to him with every little problem.

The night passed peacefully, well except for Ellie. Amanda kicked and moved and flopped like a fish out of water. Ellie was so tired the next morning, she couldn't keep her eyes open. She dragged her self out of bed to make her way down to breakfast. As she stood up and stretched, she remembered she had wanted to ask Clay about Amy Sue.

Ellie donned her robe and slippers as she made her way down the hall the Clay's room. She knocked on the door, "Clay? Clay?"

"Come in." she heard. Clay was shaving and saw Ellie in the mirror. "What's up, baby sister?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ellie asked.

"Sure honey." he said eyeing her suspiciously. Ellie never came in and talked to him about anything, she always went to Joe, Hoss or Adam. She had his mind wondering…

"Clay, you think you could convince Amy Sue to bring her youngest sister over here to play with Amanda?"

Clay shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, I can ask her after church if you want. Is there a problem?"

"Well, not exactly. Amanda seems so sassy to grown ups, but she's ok with me. You know if she sasses Papa after her parents leave, he won't let her do anything. That would be like a living Hell for me."

Clay's eyes went up at the curse word. "Eleanor Grace, I don't want to hear any swear words come out of your mouth. And if Pa hears that word come out of your mouth, you won't be do anything this week either."

"Sorry, sorry, I just meant to say Amanda is so hard and if I can find ways to make her happy and not be around the grownups, she would be easier to baby sit. Anyway, Clay will you ask Amy Sue, please?"

"Sure, but I'll swat you myself if I hear any more swear words. Understand?" he said tapping his belt buckle.

Ellie kind of swallowed, she wondered if he meant tanning her or just giving her a swat. She decided she didn't want to know. "Yes, Clay, I promise no more swear words."

"Well, you better go get yourself ready for church and Amanda, too. Pa's not going to be happy if he's waiting on you." Clay said eyeing Ellie in her nightdress.

"Oh, right. We'll be ready fast, promise!" she said as she ran out of Clay's room and down the hall. Ellie entered her room to see Amanda standing at her dresser staring at the box with the ring. So as not to frighten Amanda, Ellie entered the room quietly and placed her hand on Amanda's shoulder. "What are you doing Amanda?" Ellie demanded.

Amanda jumped, her heart was racing, she turned around to face Ellie. "Nothing, nothing, I was just looking at the ring. I didn't touch it, I promise." she gasped.

Ellie looked at Amanda and opened up the box. Her mama's ring was exactly where she left it. "Oh, ok," she sighed. "Come on Amanda, we need to get ready for church especially if we want to go on that picnic. I don't want to give Papa any reason to tell us no."

"Oh, I don't know what you are so worried about," Amanda pouted, "my papa never tells me no."

"Well, I guess you are lucky. My papa tells me "no" plenty of times and if he's promised I could do something and I get in trouble, like being late for church, I can kiss that promise good bye."

"What?" asked Amanda confused.

"What? What?" asked Ellie.

"The kissing and goodbye?"

"Oh it means that I don't get to do it. You need to understand that Amanda. While you are here, you need to mind or Papa won't let you do anything."

"It's not like he's the boss of me." huffed Amanda.

"Well, he may not be now, but he will be when your mama and papa go to San Francisco. Come on, we need to hurry and get down to breakfast, so we aren't late for church. I don't want to start out the day in trouble." Ellie said as she pulled her dress on over her head.

"You have lots of rules." said Amanda.

"I know." said Ellie. "Come on, let's go."

The girls arrived at the breakfast table along with the rest of the family. Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. Breakfast was pleasant and Amanda was well behaved. The two families loaded up in the surrey and some of the boys road their horses into town. They all arrived at church a half hour before the service started.

"Um, Pa," started Clay.

Pa already knew what Clay was going to ask. "Go on son, we'll meet you after church."

"Thanks, Pa." said Clay as he made his way over to Amy Sue's family.

"Heh, Amy." said Clay as he approached her family.

"Good Morning, Clay." said Amy as her eyes darted around making sure all the children were where they belonged.

"Heh Amy, can I sit with you during the service?" asked Clay, looking past Amy to her father.

Mr. Baldwin grinned. "Sure son, come join us. You have permission from your father, don't you?"

Clay was grinning, too. Amy's father and Clay had this conversation every Sunday. Clay laughed a little, at 26, he really didn't need his father's permission, but Mr. Baldwin was old fashioned. If you lived in your father's house, you needed permission. "Yes sir, I do." Clay wondered if he asked Amy to marry him and they had their own home, was Mr. Baldwin going to ask him that same question every Sunday for the rest of his life. He grinned to himself. He wouldn't mind a bit as long as the prize at the end of the day was being married to Amy. He offered Amy his arm and they walked into the church together and joined the Baldwin's in their pew.

He glanced across the aisle and saw the Cartwrights and the Francis' shuffle into the pew beside them. He leaned over to Amy, "Amy, I need to ask you a favor after church."

"Shush," she whispered, "we are starting."

The church service progressed. Amanda was fidgeting like crazy. Ellie noticed but Amanda's parents didn't seem to notice or mind. Ellie was shocked. When she fidgeted like that she was likely to get a least one swat if not more. She remembered when she was six, she got a swat just about every Sunday. Finally church was over and the families headed for the surrey.

"Papa?" Ellie asked tentatively.

"Hmm?"

"May I take Amanda to the lake this afternoon?"

"Well, baby, I was thinking that tomorrow would be a good day for that. Mr. and Mrs. Francis will be headed to San Francisco and the picnic would be a good distraction. Today would be a good day to try her out on Windy to see how good of a rider she is."

Ellie slumped. She hadn't planned anything else for today. "Ok Papa." she said.

Just as they finished their conversation, Ellie saw Clay coming toward her. She hoped that he had asked Amy about Lisa coming over to play.

"Heh Pa?" asked Clay.

"Yes, son?"

"Do you mind…" Clay started.

Pa chuckled, Clay was going to ask him if he could spend the afternoon with the Baldwin family and take Sunday lunch with them. "Sure son, go on with the Baldwins. Have a good time and try and be home at a decent hour."

"How'd you know what I was going to ask?" Clay asked staring at Pa.

"It's a father's prerogative to know what his sons think." said Pa chuckling or he thought it wasn't too hard to figure out since Clay has been doing this for the last two months.

"Clay did you get a chance to ask Amy about Lisa?" asked Ellie as she grabbed his arm before he could leave.

He looked at her smiling. "Sure did honey, Amy said she would need to ask her folks, but thought that would be just fine."

Ellie smiled and reached up on her tippy toes and planted a kiss on Clay's cheek. "Thanks Clay."

Pa raised his eyebrows at his two children.

Ellie noted the look on Pa's face. "Papa, I asked Clay to see if Amy's sister Lisa could come over and play with Amanda. Amanda and Lisa are the same age. Is that all right Papa? I'm sorry, I should have asked you first, I guess."

"That's a splendid idea Ellie. It's fine, but I would rather you ask permission from me the next time." he said smiling at her.

"Yes sir." she said relieved. She should of asked, but he wasn't angry.

The Cartwrights and the Francis' loaded up and headed for the Ponderosa. Ellie was very preoccupied trying to come up with activities that would keep Amanda busy and away from the adults. They all arrived home in due time and entered the house for lunch.

"Ellie, Amanda, boys, go wash up for lunch. We will put up the surrey after lunch." said Pa as he headed into the house. Pa heard a chorus of "Yes sirs" from his children, but certainly not one from Amanda. He shook his head.

Ellie held out her hand for Amanda. "Heh, Amanda, things will go a lot smoother around here if you say "Yes Sir" and "No Sir"."

Amanda scowled, 'Why should I?"

Ellie rolled her eyes, "Because…"

She didn't get a chance to finish because Adam came up behind her. "Well because young lady, your elders deserve respect. You may be sassy to your parents, but let me tell you as soon as they leave, my father will be in charge and you best show him some respect or you will be sitting in your room the entire week and not to comfortably I might add."

Amanda looked confused and scared. She was scared of Adam, he was big and tall and had a very deep scary voice. She just nodded. As Adam turned away, she asked Ellie, "I didn't understand him."

Ellie sighed, "Adam's just trying to tell you if you don't say "Yes Sir" and "No Sir" to my father and be respectful, or your going to end up with a sore behind."

Amanda's eyes got very big. "I told you my father doesn't spank me."

Ellie rolled her eyes. " I know, but my father does swat and so do all of my brothers and my cousin, the only who won't is Joe. So, just try your hardest and don't argue and everything will be fine. You want to ride Windy and go on a picnic don't you?"

Amanda nodded.

"Ok then," said Ellie, "Let's go eat lunch." Lunch passed uneventfully. As lunch came to a close, Ellie decided to ask permission to ride Windy in the corral next to the house. "Excuse me Papa?" she asked.

Pa looked over at his daughter, "Yes, Ellie?"

"May I take Amanda to practice riding Windy in the corral?"

Pa looked at his friends, "Well it's fine with me Ellie, what do you say Mason?"

Mason nodded his ascent.

Ellie quickly asked for her and Amanda to be excused before anyone changed their mind. As the girls headed out the door, Amanda could be heard whining, "I'm not just riding in a stupid old corral. I can ride, I don't need practice."

"Oh hush," Ellie hissed, "before they change their minds. Please don't argue."

Amanda just huffed as they made it out to the barn. Ellie saddled Windy. Amanda eyed Ellie, "Aren't you going to ride?"

"No, I told you we are just going to let you practice in the corral. If you ride well, I can take you to the lake tomorrow. If I don't show Papa that you can ride well enough, he won't let you ride Windy all the way to the lake." Ellie explained patiently.

Amanda crossed her arms over her little chest and stamped her foot. "You're not the boss of me and I can ride where I want!"

Adam rounded the corner and heard Amanda's latest declaration. Now he knew for sure what Ellie's little problem was last night. A problem named Amanda. He chuckled to himself, he thought he would just see how Ellie handled her little problem.

"Listen Amanda," started Ellie, "this is not your house and not your horse. You may get to do what you want at home, but not here. We have to spend the whole week together, so you might as well get used to the idea, you aren't in charge. Now do you want to ride or not?"

Amanda pouted and pushed her lip out. "I want to ride."

"Great!" said Ellie. "Come on and I'll give you a lift up." Ellie helped Amanda mount Windy. She took the lead and led her into the corral. As Ellie closed the gate, she turned around to watch Amanda ride. Much to her relief, Amanda appeared to be an excellent rider. "Wow Amanda, you really are good." praised Ellie.

Amanda looked at Ellie, "I know I am, I already told you that."

Ellie was biting her tongue. She didn't want to say what she was thinking, which was how much of a brat this little girl was. "Well, let me get Papa to watch you ride. Since you ride so well, maybe he will let us go for a ride on the ranch this afternoon. I'll be right back." Ellie said as she turned to go up to the house.

Ellie ran up to the house just as the adults were coming out the door. "Papa, please come watch Amanda ride. She's really good. Can we go for a ride this afternoon? Please?"

Pa laughed at her enthusiasm. "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute young lady. Let's check it out, shall we." Pa walked over to the corral and watched Amanda.

"Papa, can we go? I mean, see what a good rider she is? I'll watch her and we will be very careful and we will come right back. How far can we ride? What about along the south fence line? Please?" Ellie spilled the questions out all at once, she was breathless.

Pa chuckled. "It's alright with me, if her parents agree."

Ellie looked to Amanda's parents for confirmation. Mr. Francis nodded his head.

Ellie was ecstatic. "Heh Amanda, wanna go for a real ride?"

"Yeah!" responded Amanda.

"Well, wait right there and I'll get Mariah ready to go." Ellie dashed into the barn and saddled Mariah. She exited the barn with Mariah in tow and unlatched the corral gate. "Come on let's go," she said vibrating with excitement.

Their parents laughed as the two girls took off. "Be back by supper time," called Pa.

Ellie turned to look behind her yelling, "Yes Papa."

Ellie turned toward Amanda. "Amanda, let me lead this time. We are going to ride on the south fence line and then we can come back. By the way, we can't run the horses full out and we have to be walking the horses when we enter the yard."

"That's stupid." said Amanda.

"Doesn't matter if it's stupid or not. Those are the rules and if we break them, we won't be able to ride the rest of the time you're here."

Amanda huffed.

Ellie looked up and thought 'Why me, God? Why me?' Ellie had a revelation. She now totally understood when her father was seeking divine intervention. Since she was very small, she remembers her father looking up to the heavens when he was really annoyed. Adam always had said he was seeking divine intervention. She got it all of the sudden, he was asking God for patience and understanding. Boy, she could use some of that now. Ellie was lost in her own thoughts and Amanda was getting bored just plodding along.

Bored six year olds are never a good thing, least ways not on a horse. Noticing that Ellie was not paying attention, Amanda kicked Windy into a gallop and took off.

Ellie was startled out of her wool gathering and gaped open mouth at Amanda galloping away. Ellie kicked Mariah into a gallop to follow, all the while yelling, "Amanda stop, slow down." Amanda was having none of it, she was too far ahead, she probably couldn't even hear Ellie. Ellie was furious. She was so mad she started to tear. She was mad at Amanda, mad at herself for letting it happen, scared Amanda would fall and get hurt or even worse, and she was scared to death about what Papa would say if he found out. She was beginning to understand how the boys felt when she wanted to do something stupid and she was in their care. She understood why the boys swatted her all the time. She was thinking that when she got hold Amanda, she was going to some swatting.

Ellie chased after Amanda. She was riding as fast as Mariah would take her. She finally reached Amanda, as Windy was spent and was slowing down. Just as she reached Amanda, Clay appeared. He was coming back from the Baldwin's house.

Clay took note of the sweat on both horses. He was furious, he knew that Pa didn't like them to run the horses full out, especially Ellie because she was the baby. "Eleanor Grace Cartwright, get off that horse right now!" he thundered.

Ellie was startled, she hadn't even seen Clay. "But Clay, you don't…"

Clay had already swung down from his horse and grabbed Ellie by the waist. He looked at Amanda, "Get down off that horse young lady." he growled.

Amanda stuck her nose up in the air, "You're not the boss of me!" she declared.

Inwardly Ellie groaned, a very bad thing to say to her older brother.

As Ellie groaned and Clay pulled her off of Mariah, he swatted her behind, hard as he set her on the ground. "What do you think you were doing?" he barked. "Pa's gonna have your hide."

Before Ellie could respond, Clay had reached up and taken Amanda off her saddle, kicking and screaming. Clay took care of that pretty quickly. He put Amanda across his knee and gave her three good swats. Amanda was so shocked, she stopped screaming. Clay had one girl in each hand. He shook both of them. "What in the world were you two thinking? You could have been killed riding full out like that."

Amanda struggled against Clay. She viciously kicked his shin. Clay just grabbed her arm harder. "Little girl, if you make one more move, those swats you just got aren't going to be anything like you're about to get."

Ellie knew what was coming next for Amanda. "Amanda, stop, please, let's just go back home before we get in any more trouble." Ellie pleaded.

Amanda relaxed a little. "Just wait until my father…."

"Oh little girl, rest assured your father will hear about this." Clay then turned to Ellie, "and so will yours."

Ellie just nodded her head. She was not in the mood to get any more swats from Clay. It was a long ride back to the house and she wasn't interested in having a sore bottom for the ride.

Clay let loose of Ellie. 'Eleanor, get on your horse." Ellie just nodded her head. She figured she shouldn't even try and explain. Clay was too angry.

Clay then took Amanda and set her up on Windy. "If either one of you don't do exactly as I tell you, I will stop your horse, pull you off and tan your bare behind." he declared. "Understand?"

Ellie nodded, "Yes, Clay."

Clay looked at Amanda. She glared at him. "Understood?" he repeated.

"You're not the boss of me." she said insolently.

Ellie gasped. That girl sure knew how to push it. "Amanda…" Ellie pleaded.

Clay grabbed Amanda off her horse. He wasn't putting up with any more from this brat. He put her on the ground and held her with one hand, with his other hand he started to unbuckle his belt. Amanda really understood when she saw him unbuckling that belt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Understood. I'll do what you say," she pleaded.

Clay relented. He shook her at little. "I'm done with you missy, you step out of line one more time and that's it."

Amanda was cowed. She nodded her head, "Yes sir," she whispered.

Clay smiled a little to himself. Well, well, he thought, the little brat found some manners. The ride back to the ranch was silent. Each one lost in his or her own thoughts. Clay was thinking about what could have happened to the girls riding that fast along the fence line. There were fence post holes that hadn't been filled yet, one of them could have stepped in a hole, injured their horse and been thrown. He didn't even want to think about it. Ellie was thinking about maybe Adam was right, maybe she wasn't old enough for this responsibility. The only thing is that she promised and she would just have to soldier on. Amanda was thinking about how horrible this trip was and how she was going to do something to get back at these people.

The trio finally arrived at the house. The girls were cowed and Clay was still furious. "Amanda, in the house, to your room ! Eleanor rub down both of your horses, then up to my room." he ordered.

"Your room? Why, your room?" she asked.

"March!" he barked.

The girls did as they were told. Clay took care of his horse. While he was grooming Bucket, Ellie approached him. "Clay are you too mad to talk to me?" she asked tentatively, she was toeing the ground in front of her with her boot.

"What?" he spat.

"I'd like to tell you what happened. I know I deserved that swat. I still want to tell you how it happened and maybe you won't be quite as angry." she pleaded.

"Go on," he said as he brushed Bucket just a little harder.

Ellie explained the whole story to Clay in her usual way with every detail to the point where Clay just wanted her to finish the story. When she was finished, she looked at Clay and asked, "Are you still angry, Clay?"

"No honey, not at you any way. I'm not sure that you could have done anything differently to keep Amanda from taking off. Even though Amanda is only 6, she knows enough to know what she did was wrong. I'm sorry I swatted you. I was just so angry thinking that you had taken such a risk." he apologized.

She smiled at him and went to meet him as he came out of Bucket's stall to give him a hug. "I love you Clay." she whispered as she hugged him and returned to her chores.

Amanda had entered the house and raced up to Ellie's room in a flash past her parents and Pa. She slammed the door to Ellie's room. She threw herself on the bed and cried. When she cried herself out, she starting looking around Ellie's room. The more she sat in Ellie's room, the madder she got. She thought, 'this is Ellie's fault, if she had just let me ride the way I wanted, I wouldn't have run off, her and all those dumb rules of hers, I hate her…' The Amanda remembered the ring, well she would just teach Ellie, she walked over to the jewelry box and took out the ring. Amanda hid the ring in her suit case.

Meanwhile, Clay was filling Pa and Mr. and Mrs. Francis in on the events of the last couple of hours.

Mrs. Francis was furious, "You spanked my daughter?" she asked outraged. "We do not believe in spanking."

"Mrs. Francis did you hear what I told you. About how your daughter put herself in danger and how disrespectful she was?" Clay asked gaping at Mrs. Francis.

Pa intervened, "Son, that's enough. I think we understand the situation."

"But Pa,…" Clay started.

"Enough son, " Pa said sternly, "what's done is done and it can't be changed now."

"Pa.."

"I said enough, Clay." Pa said raising his voice.

"Yes sir. Well, if you'll excuse me, sir, ma'am." Clay said glancing at Mr. and Mrs. Francis. Clay glanced at his father for permission to leave, Pa nodded and Clay headed for his room.

Pa turned toward the Francis', "Mason, I understand that Amanda is your daughter. But, if she is to stay with us while you are in San Francisco, she will be treated like one of my own children. And if the situation that Clay presented to us happened while you were gone and Clay hadn't already paddled Amanda, I surely would have."

Mrs. Francis gasped, "Well, I think it's clear Mason, that we need to take Amanda with us. I just don't feel comfortable leaving her here."

"Now, now Vi, it won't hurt her to be here. I say we leave her." Mason said as he ran his hand through his hair.

His wife sent him a withering glare, "Absolutely not!" she said as she turned and headed up the stairs. "I think I will lie down before dinner."

Mason raised his hands in defeat and looked at his old friend. "Well Ben, thanks for the offer. But I guess, we will be taking Amanda with us." he said sheepishly.

Ben smiled, he knew Ellie was at her wits end. 'Whatever, you think best Mason." he replied as he clapped his friend on the shoulder.

Ellie walked through the front door and saw her father slap Mr. Francis on the shoulder. She mentally sighed, maybe things were going to be ok. She approached the two men. "Mr. Francis, I'm very sorry." she said looking at the floor.

Mason turned to her smiling, 'Sorry for what, dear?"

"Sorry that I didn't keep a better eye on Amanda and I let her get away from me on Windy." Ellie said her voice shaking, she was very close to tears.

Pa walked over to Ellie and put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "Ellie, were you day dreaming when it happened?" he asked gently.

Ellie drew in a big breath, "Yes sir." she whispered.

"I see," said Pa. "You know Ellie, watching a younger child is a big responsibility. You can't afford to be day dreaming. You have to keep your eye on the child all the time."

"I know Papa, I'm really sorry. It won't happen again. I know I can do a good job of watching Amanda. I know I can." her voice was hitching, the tears were starting to come.

Mason walked over to Ellie and lifted her chin, "Ellie, Amanda knows what she did was wrong. Only Amanda is responsible for her actions. I doubt that you could of stopped her anyway. She would have found another opportunity to take off."

"I'm so sorry Mr. Francis. I still think it was my responsibility and I let you down. Please forgive me." Ellie said as the tears were running down her face.

Pa was so proud of her at that point. He was glad that she knew it was her responsibility. However, he wasn't quite sure she was old enough to handle a child like Amanda. He held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Even though I believe that it wasn't your fault, you have my forgiveness if you insist. You're a very grown up young lady." said Mason patting her arm.

"Thank you, sir." said Ellie sniffing a bit.

"Ellie, go get washed up for supper." said Pa gently as he hugged her and pushed her toward the stairs.

"Yes Papa." she said as she left to go upstairs.

"You've got quite a little lady there, Ben." Mason complimented.

"Thank you, I believe I do." said Pa.

Ellie reached her room and was about to enter when she remembered Clay wanted her to go to his room for some reason. She hoped it wasn't because he was going to tan her bare behind like he threatened to earlier. She approached his room nervously. She tapped on his door, "Clay?"

"Come in."

"Uh, Clay, you told me to go to your room instead of mine?" she asked.

"I said that because I wanted Amanda to be by herself and think about what she had done. I didn't want you to give her any sympathy."

"Whew, I thought well, um anyway ok, is it ok if I go now?" Ellie stumbled. She didn't want to remind him about the spanking he'd threatened.

"Sure honey. I don't think my plan worked anyway. Mrs. Francis took off up the stairs the minute she heard I swatted her precious little angel. She is taking her to San Francisco with her. So, you won't have to be bothered anymore." he laughed.

"Really, wow, that's great. I mean, I don't want the $5, I'd rather have peace. Umm, Clay, you aren't still mad are you?" Ellie asked.

"No honey, it's ok. Don't worry. I wasn't planning on tanning your hide, at least not this time." he grinned.

Ellie heaved a big sigh of relief. Clay held his arms out to her for a big hug and then released her. He turned her toward the door with a mild swat to her behind, "Go on girl, go get washed up for supper."

Ellie went to her room and found it empty. She figured Amanda was with her mother. Ellie was somewhat relieved. Ellie washed and changed for supper. She was glad that Amanda would be going to San Francisco with her parents. The $5 was definitely not worth the hassle of having to watch Amanda. She was lost in her thoughts, when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she said.

Joe walked in. "Heh Sissy, Pa said he's called you twice and you better come down to supper."

"Oh no, I didn't hear him. Is he mad, Joe?" she asked fearfully.

"Naw, he didn't sound mad, just frustrated. Come right now and he'll forget." said Joe smiling at her. "I heard what happened Sissy, I guess you didn't have a great day."

"Yeah, I didn't," said Ellie joining Joe in the hall. "I'm so tired, I hope Papa let's me go to bed early.."

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Because we have company, silly."

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry, I think Pa's had his fill of Amanda and he will understand." said Joe confidently.

The youngest Cartwrights arrived at the supper table as every else was sitting down. Dinner was fairly animated. The Francis' announced they would be leaving for San Francisco the next day and that they would be taking Amanda with them. Ellie secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Her relief was short lived when she found out the Francis' would return to the Ponderosa for the next weekend.

As supper came to a close, Ellie was yawning and wishing she could just go to bed. "Papa, may I be excused?" she ventured.

Pa raised is eyebrows.

"Papa, I'm really tired."

Pa nodded his head.

"Thank you." Ellie said as she got up from the table and made her way to the staircase as quickly as she could without being rude. Ellie made it to her room, changed and was in bed and out like a light in no time at all.

As the rest of the two families left the table, Adam caught his father by the elbow. 'Pa, do you want me to check on Ellie? She never wants to go to bed this early? I hope she's not sick."

Pa chuckled. Adam could be such a mother hen sometimes. "I'm sure she's fine son, she just had a long day."

The two families passed the time, talking, playing checkers and admiring the stars. The only one not happy was Amanda. She had nobody to pay attention to her. She finally wheedled her mother into reading her a story in her parent's room. Lucky for Ellie, the little whirlwind was spending the night in her parents room.

Morning came and everyone arrived at the breakfast table one by one. The Cartwrights saw the Francis' off. Hoss was going to drive them to Virginia City in the surrey. Ellie breathed a sigh of relief as she saw them drive off. Adam noticed the sigh.

"Little tougher job that you thought?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, you know Adam. I had no idea. How did you do it?" she asked.

"How did I do what?"

"How did you watch Hoss and Joe and that age? I can't even watch one little girl without getting in trouble." Ellie sighed.

Adam chuckled. "It wasn't always easy. But, we were raised differently. We were all raised to mind and be respectful. Hoss listened to me because he respected me and maybe because Pa would have had his hide if he didn't. Plus your Mama usually took Joe, so I really had to watch Hoss. Joe was just a baby, it didn't take much watching him."

Ellie sighed again.

"Well missy, don't you have chores to do?" Adam questioned.

"Yeah, I got me a mountain of chores. Papa said to help Hop Sing in the kitchen and then I have to clean my room and then he said I could check with him for more chores. I think he's still upset about me letting Amanda run off." Ellie said nodding her head.

"Best get to it little girl." Adam smiled.

"Yeah, ok, see you later Adam." Ellie said resigned as she headed for the house. Ellie helped Hop Sing with the dishes and the kitchen chores. She then headed for her room to clean up the mess made by the whirlwind known as Amanda. Ellie was straightening the things on her dresser. She went to move the box with her mother's wedding ring inside. 'That's funny,' she thought the ring didn't rattle around in the box like it normally does. Adam had made the box especially for the ring. Her heart clutched, please let it be there, please let it be there, she prayed as she opened the box. Her heart sank, the ring was gone. She sat down on her bed and the flood gate of tears just opened up. Everything that had happened over the weekend and now her mama's ring was missing.

Joe was walking down the hall and heard the crying. Puzzled, he knocked on her door. "Sissy, sissy, what's wrong?" Joe asked pushing the door open. He opened her door to see the tears running down her face and the ring box in her hand.

"Oh Joe," she cried. She just starting crying harder. She couldn't catch her breath. She was hiccupping and coughing and crying all at the same time.

Joe wasn't sure what to do. He was worried she was going to pass out because she couldn't get her breath. Pa always held her when she had a melt down when she was little. Joe went over to her bed and pulled her up and into her arms. He rubbed her back and held her tight. He kept saying over and over, "Calm down, tell me what happened."

Finally, Ellie calmed down enough to manage, "Joe, mama's ring is gone."

Joe whistled. "Whoo, wee, Sissy, what happened?"

"I don't know," she sniffed. "I think Amanda took it, but I don't know for sure, I could have lost it or misplaced it."

"Why do you think Amanda took it?"

"Well, a couple of times over the weekend, she had the box open and was either holding the ring or looking at it. But I don't know for sure if she took it. I had thought about putting away so she wouldn't mess with it, but I can't remember if I did or not. I haven't looked everywhere yet. Maybe it just rolled on the floor underneath something or maybe I just put it up or…." Ellie went on.

"You need to tell Pa that Amanda took the ring. The Francis' are coming back next weekend." Joe advised.

"But Joe, what if I'm the one who misplaced it or I lost it, I can't just accuse Amanda," Ellie said.

"Do you want me to help you look?" asked Joe.

"No, I can look myself." sighed Ellie.

"You sure, Sissy?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Joe gave Ellie a pat on the back and headed out the door. "Sissy, I heard Pa tell you to come to him for more chores, you better go down or he's going to think something is up."

Ellie followed Joe down the stairs. Pa was sitting at his desk. Ellie approached her father. She had forgotten to wash the tear stains from her face and her nose was still red from crying. "Papa, you said to come ask you for more chores."

Pa didn't look up right away. "Did you finish cleaning your room and helping Hop Sing?"

"Yes sir."

"Ok, then you can…." Pa started to say as he looked up. He took one look at his baby's face and knew something was terribly wrong. "Ellie, why've you been crying?" he asked gently.

Ellie started to tear. She didn't really want to tell him what was wrong. "Dust from my room," she ventured.

Pa shook his head, "Eleanor Grace, I don't know what's wrong, but lying isn't going to help you."

Ellie took a deep breath, the tears were really starting to flow. Pa motioned Ellie to come behind the desk to him. She walked to him as he stood up to receive her in his arms. "Now, what's this all about?" he gently chided. She cried into his shoulder that her mama's ring was missing.

He pushed her back at arm's length. "Did you just say that your mama's ring is missing?" he asked thunderstruck.

"Yes sir," she sniffled looking at the floor.

Pa was in shock. "And just how did the ring go missing?"

Ellie explained the whole story. She started with how she found Amanda looking at the ring. But she wasn't sure if Amanda took it or she herself had misplaced it.

Pa looked at her curiously. "Eleanor, did you go in the box after you found Amanda with the ring the first time?

'No, Papa. I don't think so. But I remember thinking maybe I should move it while Amanda's here, just so nothing happened to it. I just can't remember if I really moved it or not."

"Well, you keep looking for it and when the Francis' come back next Saturday we will ask Amanda." Pa declared.

Ellie nodded her head. "Papa what if it's really gone, it's all I have of mama's."

"I can probably find another one just like it."

"But Papa, you don't understand, I don't want another one. I just wanted that one. I was hoping to use it for when I get married some day."

Pa hugged her tight. "I know baby, hopefully it will turn up."

"Ok," she said sadly.

"I don't know how the tack in the barn got to be such a mess, I want you to clean and straighten the tack. When you are finished, you are free for the day." Pa instructed. He hoped her chore would keep her from being too upset about the ring and maybe clear her mind.

"Papa, may I go to Marybeth's when I'm done?"

Pa took a look at the clock, "I don't think you'll have time today. Why don't you get one of your brothers to take you tomorrow."

Ellie just sighed as she turned toward the front door to head out to the barn. Pa watched her walk toward the front toward with slumped shoulders. He just shook his head.

As Ellie was cleaning and straightening the tack, when Clay walked in. "Heh, baby girl." he greeted.

"Oh, heh Clay."

"Why the long face?" he asked concerned.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You sassing me, little girl?" Clay asked. He didn't like her tone.

"No, no I'm sorry Clay. I didn't mean to be rude, honest." Ellie said quickly.

"Oh, well I'm around if you need me. I'm done with my chores for the day." he said giving her a squeeze.

"Okay, see you later." she sighed.

Clay left the barn shaking his head. Ellie sure had been a trial the last few days. He had hoped that once Amanda left, she would brighten up. He headed for the house. "Heh, Pa," he greeted his father, "what's up with Ellie. She looks like she lost her best friend."

"Oh son, she thinks she lost Marie's wedding ring. The one she wore when we got married. Ellie isn't sure if Amanda took it or she lost it. I'm fairly certain it was Amanda." Pa said rubbing his chin.

"How come you're so certain, Pa?" he asked.

"Well," Pa starting taking a breath, "Mason told me that one of the reasons they took this little trip is to try and break the cycle of Amanda taking things that didn't belong to her. Quite a few things have gone missing from Amanda's friend's houses, only to be found in Amanda's room or somewhere in the Francis' house."

Clay whistled. "Does Ellie know about Amanda's little habit?"

"No son, I haven't told her yet. I hate to be spreading rumors." said Pa as he rubbed his hand through his hair.

"Yeah but Pa, she's really miserable. Don't you think you should tell her?" Clay asked. He really hated to see "the baby" suffer. He thought of her as "the baby". Well technically she was the baby of the family. He wasn't ready to concede she was growing up just a bit.

"I don't know, we don't know for sure. I think Ellie would second guess herself nonetheless."

"Well Pa, you know best." Clay grumbled as he headed for his room.

The week dragged by for Ellie. She went over to Marybeth's a couple of days to pass the time. She was anxiously awaiting Amanda's return. She was just sure Amanda took the ring. What if she did take it and lost in San Francisco. Ellie would never see her mama's ring again. The again, Ellie felt guilt for even wanting to accuse Amanda. What if Ellie herself had just lost the ring. Ellie remained torn.

Finally the day came for the Francis' to return from San Francisco. Ellie remained torn and withdrawn. When the time came to retrieve the Francis' from the stagecoach, Pa asked if Ellie wanted to accompany him.

"No thank you Papa." Ellie said solemnly.

Pa collected the Francis family from the stage depot and returned to the Ponderosa. As the family stepped down from the surrey, Pa cornered Mason. "Mason, might I have a word with you?"

Mason eyed his old friend. Something definitely wasn't right. "Sure Ben," he said as he motioned his family up to the house.

"Mason, I don't know how to ask this?"

"Just do it Ben, get it said old friend." said Mason, clapping Pa on the back.

"Well, Ellie had her mother's wedding ring on her dresser and it's missing. Amanda looked at it a couple of times. Ellie isn't sure if maybe Amanda has it or Ellie just misplaced it. Would you mind asking Amanda? That ring is the only thing Ellie has of her mother, she is just devastated."

Mason grimaced. "Oh my Lord, Ben, I was hoping I wasn't raising a little thief!"

"Now, now Mason, we don't know for sure. Ellie is very unsure. We just want to check for every possibility. The ring is irreplaceable in Ellie's eyes. She looked forward to wearing that ring on her wedding day." Ben said trying to comfort his friend.

"Well, let's go find out." said Mason as he headed for the stairs.

Pa just sighed.

Mason headed up the stairs to speak to his daughter. He entered the room and found his wife hanging up clothes and his daughter sitting on the bed. He closed the door behind him. "Amanda," he said sternly, "I'm going to ask you a question and I want the truth."

Amanda had never seen her father look so angry and determined. She gulped. "Yes Papa?"

"Did you take Ellie's mother's ring from the box on her dresser?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.

"No Papa, I didn't." she said confidently.

His eyes narrowed even further, "Amanda Susan Francis, if I find out that you haven't told the truth and I find that ring, I will give you a spanking that you will never forget."

Amanda started her crocodile tears. "I said I didn't take it. Why are you so mean? You never believe me!" she wailed.

Violet Francis stepped in. She was madder than a wet hen. "Mason, how could you possibly think that Amanda would do such a thing. Did Eleanor accuse her of taking it? How could you take sides against your own daughter? Of course she didn't take it. I'm sure Eleanor lost it and is just blaming Amanda. I mean, for heaven's sake, Eleanor couldn't even keep Amanda out of trouble for just one day."

Mason held up his hand to stall his wife's tirade. "All right, all right, enough Vi, enough. Ben said that Ellie wasn't sure what happened to the ring and he was just trying to cover all the possibilities."

"Well, your daughter is not one of the possibilities!" huffed Violet.

Mason returned to the great room where Pa was sitting at his desk. "Ben, I've asked Amanda and she swears she didn't take it. I'm not so sure."

Pa just shook his head. As Pa was offering his friend a drink, Ellie appeared at the top of the stairs. "Papa?"

"Yes, Ellie?"

"Umm, well, I mean…"

Mason interrupted. "You want to know if Amanda took your ring."

"Well, yes sir." she admitted.

"I asked her, dear and she denied it. I'm not sure I believe her."

Ellie was speechless, she couldn't believe what she just heard. She swallowed, hard. She came down the stairs to stand in front of the two men. "May I ask her?" she ventured.

Mason sighed as he accepted the drink from Ellie's Papa, "You can try, dear, but I'm not sure it would do any good."

"Please Mr. Francis, I would like to try." Ellie begged.

"I guess there would be no harm. I told her that if she was lying and I found out, I would give her the spanking of her life."

Oh thought Ellie, that was going to make it a lot harder. "Um, Mr. Francis?"

"Yes?"

"If Amanda really did take it and you threatened a spanking, she may be too scared to tell. Isn't it more important that she learn to tell the truth? Papa always says that telling the truth is more important. He always says that we can come to him with the truth and he will consider that when he punishes." she said turning toward her father. "Isn't that right, Papa?"

"Yes, I suppose so." said Mason nodding.

"Well, can I tell Amanda that you promise not to spank her if she tells the truth?" pleaded Ellie.

Mason was shaking his head no.

"Please Mr. Francis, this ring is so important to me. I would do just about anything to get it back. Please?"

Mason relented. "Ok, Ellie, I promise not to give her a spanking."

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir." Ellie decided that she would ask Amanda right after supper, she would ask Amanda if she would like to swing behind the house. She could ask her then. Before she knew it, supper time had arrived.

Supper time was over and everyone was still sitting at the table. "Heh Amanda, want to go swing? Adam fixed up the old swing behind the house, it's good as new. Oh, wait, Papa, may we go swing?" Ellie asked.

Her Papa smiled at her, "Sure baby, go ahead, as long as it's alright with Mr. and Mrs. Francis."

Ellie looked across the table, "Sir? Ma'am?"

Thankfully they nodded their ascent.

"Come on," said Ellie to Amanda grabbing her arm.

Ellie led Amanda to the swing. She pushed and pushed Amanda. Amanda cried out in delight. Then Ellie slowed the swing down.

"Heh," said Amanda, "Come on, keep pushing."

"Sure," said Amanda. "I just want to ask you something first."

"What?" asked Amanda.

"Amanda, I just wanted to let you know that my mama's ring is missing. It's really important to me. You know my mama died when I was a baby and I don't remember her at all. It's the only think I have of hers. I just want you to know if you did take it, I won't be mad, I just want to get it back. I talked to your Papa and he promised no spankings if you did. Please Amanda, it is so important to me….." Ellie said with tears in her eyes.

Amanda looked down and bit her lower lip. She saw the tears in Ellie's eyes. She suddenly felt guilty. "I took it." she whispered.

Ellie looked up, "Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, it's in my suitcase." said Amanda.

Ellie hugged Amanda, "Thank you, thank you for telling the truth Amanda. Can you go get it for me?"

"Sure," said Amanda hopping off the swing. "Will you push me some more?"

"Absolutely," said Ellie smiling.

Amanda took off running toward the house. Moments later she returned with the ring.

Tears where shining in Ellie's eyes. 'Thank you! Thank you!" Ellie whispered as she slipped the ring on.

"Come on, let me push you some more on the swing."

The girls finally went to bed when called by their parents. Once Amanda was asleep, Ellie took leave of her room to search for her father. She tapped on her father's door.

"Come in," she heard.

"Papa, Amanda admitted to having the ring. She gave it back to me. I'm so grateful to have it back. I want Mr. Francis to know, but I don't want him to punish her. Telling the truth is a better lesson, isn't it?" Ellie asked as she sat down on his bed.

Pa gave her a warm hug. "I'm proud of you. The way you handled it. The way you thought the lesson was more important than the punishment."

Ellie giggled, "I wish you would think that Papa. Seems like I usually get a spanking either way."

"Yes, well, my ways are different than Mason's, young lady. I will tell Mason in the morning, now off to bed with you." he said gruffly.

"Night Papa." she said kissing him good night.

"Night, my princess." he said. My, my she is really growing up thought Pa as he turned in for the night.


End file.
